In the forest, the drives that matter
- Drives
- Morning and afternoon, about three hours
- Vehicle
- Gypsy, the open six-seat jeep
- Permits
- Forest department, tied to passports
- Main lakes
- Padam, Rajbagh and Malik Talao
- Best hot-month drive
- Afternoon, April to June
A dawn drive in a private Gypsy
Setting out: leave the lodge in the cold half-light with a blanket and a flask of tea, and be at the gate as it opens.
Why the first hour: the forest is most alive, with tigers moving between territory and water, sambar alarm-calling and peafowl on every track.
- Why a Gypsy: it is quieter, more flexible and gives everyone a clear view.
- Book early: permits sell out early in high season, so we book as soon as your dates are fixed.
- Choosing naturalists: our wildlife safari page explains how we do it.
An afternoon drive into the golden hour
The light: drives begin in the heat and end in the most beautiful light of the day, as the dhok forest turns gold and animals come out to drink.
The last hour: tigers that have rested all day often move again. Some of our guests' best sightings came in the final twenty minutes before the gates closed.
- What to bring: a scarf for dust and a layer for the cool drive back in winter.
- April to June: afternoon drives can be the most productive of all, because animals that spent the day in shade must reach water before dark.
- In the heat: take plenty of water, a wet scarf for your neck and patience.
- For photographers: the last half hour, low and copper through the dust, is a dream.
A morning devoted to the lakes
When: if your permit falls in a zone that includes Padam Talao, Rajbagh Talao and Malik Talao below the fort.
How: ask your naturalist to spend time at the water rather than racing between tiger reports.
- What you see: sambar wading in to graze water plants, and mugger crocodiles basking on the banks.
- The famous scenes: the ruined pavilions and arches standing in and beside Rajbagh.
- Jogi Mahal: the old forest rest house on Padam Talao, beside one of the largest banyan trees in India.
- Watch closely: which animals arrive and in what order, how the deer keep looking towards one patch of grass, how the langurs suddenly go silent.
- The reward: more than once, guests have watched a tiger walk out to drink while every other vehicle raced off elsewhere.
Look for leopards on the rocky edges
Where: tigers rule the valleys, so leopards keep to the cliffs, ravines and rocky edges of the park.
- The odds: they are shyer and harder to find.
- With the right naturalist: one who knows their haunts can sometimes show you one draped over a ledge in the late afternoon.
- If leopards become your passion: our journal piece on Jawai or Ranthambore explains where they are easiest to see.
Learn the forest's alarm system
Ask to be taught: your naturalist can teach you the calls.
- The calls: a sambar's sharp honk, a spotted deer's bark, a langur's cough from the treetops and the agitated chatter of a treepie.
- What they mean: each can mean a tiger or leopard is on the move.
- By the third drive: guests often hear an alarm before the driver does, and that moment is as thrilling as any sighting.
Keep one drive with no tiger in mind
Tell your naturalist: you don't mind whether you see a tiger.
- Spend it on: birds, trees, pugmarks, scats and the small lives of the forest.
- What you might find: a crested serpent eagle on a dead branch, a monitor lizard on a rock, a nilgai family in the grass.
- The forest's sense of humour: guests who do this see far more, and often they see a tiger too.
Birds and the rest of the cast
- Big cats
- Tigers, and leopards on the rocky edges
- At dusk
- Sloth bears
- Deer
- Sambar, spotted deer, nilgai, chinkara
- Rare sightings
- Striped hyena, jungle cat, caracal
- Winter birds
- Migrant ducks and waders on the lakes
Birdwatching on the lakes
On the water: painted storks, spoonbills, darters, cormorants, herons, egrets and kingfishers.
In winter: migrant ducks and waders join them.
- In the forest: crested serpent eagles, changeable hawk-eagles, owls, woodpeckers, orioles and the endlessly noisy rufous treepies.
- Binoculars: bring a pair for everyone in the jeep. A good bird list is a fine souvenir.
- Further afield: our page on birding covers Rajasthan's other great sites.
Surwal lake in winter
What it is: a shallow seasonal lake in farmland outside the park that fills after a good monsoon.
- What comes: waders, storks, geese and ducks through the cool months.
- When we go: it changes every year with the rains, so only when it is full.
- How: a morning with a flask of tea and a telescope, a lovely change from the jeep, with no permits to worry about.
The animals in between
At dusk: sloth bears shuffle through.
For the lucky: striped hyenas and jungle cats.
- In the open: nilgai and chinkara gazelles graze, and langurs drop fruit for the deer below.
- On the banks: mugger crocodiles bask.
- No chasing: each adds a story to the day, and none of them needs to be chased.
- In context: our journal on the tigers of Ranthambore.
Forts, temples and ruins
- UNESCO
- 2013, a Hill Fort of Rajasthan
- Allow
- At least two hours
- Fell to Khalji
- 1301
- Temple fair
- Ganesh Chaturthi, August or September
- Khandar
- About 40 km from Sawai Madhopur
Climb Ranthambore Fort
Where: on a flat-topped hill where the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges meet.
The way in: on foot through a series of massive gates, up a steep stone ramp.
- On top: a broad plateau of ruined palaces, cenotaphs, step tanks, temples and mosques, with sheer drops and views far over the forest.
- When: in the late morning after a dawn drive, or in the afternoon instead of a second safari, so the fort becomes part of the rhythm.
- What to bring: shoes with grip and water. Keep food out of sight of the langurs and macaques.
- A guide: one who knows the fort's history is worth having.
- In context: our page on forts and palaces places it beside its five UNESCO sisters.
Post a wedding card to the three-eyed Ganesh
The shrine: the Trinetra Ganesh temple is the fort's most visited.
The custom: Ganesh is the god of beginnings, so families across Rajasthan and beyond send him the first wedding invitation. Many post their cards to the temple, and the priests read them out to the god.
- Visiting: with respect, shoes off.
- Planning a wedding: our guides will happily help you write him a card.
- Ganesh Chaturthi: huge crowds walk up through the forest for the temple fair. Wonderful if you love festivals, poor if you want a quiet visit.
- On an ordinary weekday morning: the temple is calm, devotional and full of small rituals worth watching from a respectful distance.
Walk Hammir's plateau
What's there: the ruins of Hammir Dev's palace and court, and reservoirs that let the fort survive long sieges.
- The gateways: they once saw armies from Delhi.
- The story: Hammir defied Alauddin Khalji, and in 1301 the fort fell after a long siege. A good guide brings this alive.
- Wildlife too: langurs, peafowl and even a leopard's pugmarks in the dust, as the fort lies inside the reserve.
Find Khandar, the fort on the edge
Where: on the boundary of the reserve.
Who held it: built by Badgujar Rajputs, later held by the Sisodias of Mewar, briefly by the Mughals and from the eighteenth century by the rulers of Jaipur.
- Today: its gates are damaged, and its temples and water tanks are quiet and little visited.
- Why go: a fine half-day for guests who love ruins and want an adventure without permits.
- The road: it runs through farmland and villages most visitors never see, and the climb is steep and rough.
- How: with a guide, in the cool of the morning, with water and good shoes.
- Stay alert: wildlife is sometimes seen around the fort, so keep together.
See the ruins from the jeep
What to look for: old hunting towers, gateways and chhatris, the domed pavilions of Rajput architecture, scattered through the forest.
- Ask: your naturalist can point them out as you pass.
- What they mean: this was a royal hunting preserve of the Jaipur maharajas, and the forest survived partly because it was guarded for the king's hunt.
- The form explained: our journal piece on what a chhatri is.
The people who live beside the tigers
- Dastkar
- Craft initiative working since 1989
- Crafts
- Block print, patchwork, embroidery
- Guava season
- Winter
- Museum
- In Sawai Madhopur town
Shop at Dastkar Ranthambore
What it is: a long-running craft project working with women in the villages around the park, many from families resettled from inside the forest.
What to buy: block prints, patchwork, embroidery and toys, from its own shop near the park.
- Where the money goes: directly into the communities who share their land with tigers and leopards.
- Watch the work: ask to see the women at work if a session is running.
- Why it began: when villages were moved out of the core after Project Tiger began, families lost land, grazing and a way of life, and craft became one way to rebuild.
- The wider tradition: our page on block printing and crafts.
Walk through a village on the forest edge
The other side of conservation: farmers who lose crops to deer and boar, herders who lose cattle to leopards, and families who still make room for the forest.
How we go: with a local guide and people from the village, only where we are welcome, as an honest exchange rather than a show.
- What you see: a woman making cow-dung cakes for fuel, a farmer explaining the fence he builds each season against nilgai, children walking to school past pugmarks.
- Manners: bring curiosity rather than gifts, ask before any photograph, and let our guide lead the conversation in the local language.
- Why it stays with you: it is often the visit our guests talk about longest.
Taste a Sawai Madhopur guava
The fruit: the district is known across Rajasthan for its guavas, and in winter the roadside stalls are piled with them.
- The local way: have them cut and sprinkled with salt and chilli, and eat them in the car.
- Why it's here: the simplest pleasure on this list, and one of the most local.
Visit the natural history museum
What it is: the Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History in Sawai Madhopur, introducing the wildlife and ecology of western India.
- Who it suits: children, and anyone wanting a rainy-day or hot-afternoon break from the lodge.
- Before you go: check that it is open, as hours change.
The hours between drives
Sleep, swim and do nothing
After a 5am start: the most sensible thing is nothing. Sleep after breakfast, swim, read under a tree and let the heat pass.
Built for it: Ranthambore's best lodges, Aman-i-Khas, SUJAN Sher Bagh and The Oberoi Vanyavilas, are designed for exactly these hours.
- Compare them: our guide to luxury hotels in Ranthambore.
- Rest on purpose: guests who fill every free hour often find the afternoon drive harder going and enjoy it less.
- In the hot months: the lodge is simply the coolest place to be between eleven and three.
A spa treatment after a dusty drive
Why: a massage after a cold dawn in an open jeep is one of the great pleasures of a safari, and several lodges have spas.
- When: book the slot before your afternoon drive, so you go out loose and rested.
- What to expect: our page on spas and Ayurveda explains Indian treatments.
A naturalist's talk
What: the best lodges keep naturalists who give evening talks on tigers, tracking and the history of the reserve.
- What to ask: about the tigers holding territory this season, the families descended from Machli, and the long fight against poaching.
- Why: it turns the drives into a story you can follow.
- Before you come: read about Machli the tigress.
Breakfast or lunch in the bush
What: some lodges set up a breakfast after the morning drive, or a lunch under a tree in the countryside, with a table, a cook and a view.
- Worth it: ask for it once.
- How: where and how depends on the lodge and the forest rules, and we arrange it in advance.
After dark
Stories around the fire
This is where you hear the legends: the tigress who killed a crocodile, the cub who grew up on the fort walls, the morning a tiger walked past the jeep close enough to touch. Some of them are even true.
- After the afternoon drive: the lodges light fires, and naturalists, guests and sometimes old forest hands sit around them with a drink and swap the day's sightings.
- In winter: the fires matter for warmth as much as atmosphere, and lodges set out shawls and blankets.
- Ask the oldest naturalist: about the Ranthambore of twenty or thirty years ago, when Fateh Singh Rathore was field director and tigers first began to show themselves in daylight.
Stargazing and night sounds
The sky: away from city lights, the winter sky over Ranthambore is dark and full of stars.
Where: ask for a quiet spot away from the lodge lights, and listen.
- What you hear: owls, nightjars, jackals and, now and then, a sambar's alarm call far off in the forest.
- More ideas: our page on stargazing.
- No night drives: they are not permitted inside the park, and we don't offer them outside it.
On the way in and out
- Abhaneri
- On the road from Agra or Jaipur
- Allow at Abhaneri
- About an hour
- Bundi
- About three hours south
- Shared history
- 1569, Ranthambore surrendered to Akbar
The stepwell at Abhaneri
What it is: the vast, criss-crossing steps of Chand Baori, one of the great stops in Rajasthan.
- Beside it: the carved Harshat Mata temple.
- Allow: an hour.
On to Bundi
What's there: a painted palace, a star fort and stepwells, a perfect contrast to the forest.
- Shared history: Rao Surjan Hada of Bundi surrendered Ranthambore Fort to Akbar in 1569.
- How we time it: leave after a final morning drive and arrive for lunch and an afternoon at the stepwells.
Which of these suit you
First-time visitors: focus on the safaris, the fort and one cultural visit, Dastkar or a village walk, and use the lodge between drives.
Photographers: add extra drives, spend more time at the lakes and plan for the hot months, when animals gather at water.
- Families: short drives in a private Gypsy, the fort and its monkeys, the museum and plenty of pool time. Our guide to travelling with children has more.
- Birders: a dedicated lake drive, a morning at Surwal and a naturalist who knows the calls.
- Repeat visitors: having seen their tiger, they often enjoy Khandar, the village walks and the fireside conversations most of all.
- Everyone: read our photography tips for Rajasthan before you pack the long lens.
Putting it together
Our rhythm: early drives, long lazy middays, the fort once, a village or Dastkar once, and one session kept free in case you fall in love with a particular tiger.
Itineraries: our Ranthambore itinerary sets out two-, three- and four-night versions.
- Seasons: our guide to the best time to visit Ranthambore explains how the season changes the forest.
- The full story: our Ranthambore guide.
- Journeys: Ranthambore fits naturally into our Golden Triangle with Ranthambore and Big cats and birds journeys.
- No elephant rides: we don't offer them anywhere, and our page on ethical animal encounters explains why.
What our naturalists tell friends
Book early: permits and the best lodges sell out months ahead for Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Behave in the jeep: stay seated, stay quiet, and never ask the driver to chase an animal or leave the track.
Dress for dawn: muted greens, browns and khaki, in layers. Winter dawns in an open jeep are bitterly cold.
- Carry the basics: binoculars for everyone, a scarf for dust, sunscreen and a refillable bottle.
- Avoid Ganesh Chaturthi week: if you want a quiet fort, as pilgrims fill the road.
- No flash, phones on silent: a camera shutter is fine. A ringing phone is not.
- Feed nothing, throw nothing: not even an apple core.
- No drones: they are not allowed in the park.
- Bring passport details: permits are issued in each guest's name and passport number, so we collect them early.
- Tip directly: pay your driver and naturalist at the end of the stay. They are the reason the mornings work.
